Judge Emil Giordano needed a day longer than he initially requested on Friday before he ruled Rachel Farrell would not be allowed to work in a Palmer Township factory. Giordano, who made his ruling between summary appeal hearings Wednesday morning, did not provide any reasoning.

Farrell, who has served approximately half of her five-month minimum sentence, has requested work release or house arrest since she was first sentenced June 8 on one count of corruption of minors.

However, standard procedure at Northampton County Prison is to deny work release to prisoners who commit sexual crimes, Giordano said. Only a court order can overrule it, and Giordano said last week he was uncomfortable reversing a set policy.

Farrell admitted last April in court that she carried out an extended affair with a 17-year-old student of hers from Bangor Area High School. The two of them would have sex in cars, including in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart off Route 248 in Lower Nazareth Township, and repeated trysts at a Tannersville hotel.

Steven Mills, Farrell's attorney, argued in court that Farrell is not a sex offender because of the technicalities of her plea deal. He said he understood the prison's policies and Giordano's decision, though he disagreed with them in this instance.